Batting great Brian Lara expressed surprise at Kolkata Knight Riders’ approach in the middle-overs during their failed chase of a 153-run target against Mumbai Indians in Match 5 of Indian Premier League 2021 in Chennai on Tuesday.
Brain Lara said all Kolkata Knight Riders needed after a solid start from their openers in the chase was a bit of “sensible cricket” but that the former champions paid the price for some careless cricket from their middle-order batsmen, including experienced players.
KKR were cruising at 103 for 3 in the 13th over and needed a little over run-a-ball from there to clinch their second successive win of the IPL 2021 season. With a well-set Nitish Rana and captain Eoin Morgan in the middle, KKR looked on course to complete the chase without any major hiccups.
However, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar ran through the KKR batting order, removing both Nitish Rana and Eoin Morgan after he got Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi, who came in at No. 4. It was surprising to see Eoin Morgan trying to attack the in-form spinner who was getting a lot of purchase from the Chepauk wicket. Raha threw away his wicket while trying to step down and attack Chahar off the last delivery of his spell.
“Mumbai Indians won it because they had the right bowlers at the right time,” Brain Lara told Star Sports.
“You can’t be like ‘okay, we got a good start, let’s just steamroll this opposition’. You have got to play sensible cricket. You have got to see which bowlers are potent on this track and the spinners are. The leg-spinner getting left-handers out, that’s not normal. That’s supposed to be the right match-up for a batsman. But he got them all out because they played carelessly.”
Biran Lara credited Rohit Sharma and his men for sticking to their bowling plans and taking the game down to the wire, saying it would been a commendable effort from the 5-time champions even if they had lost the match towards the end.
Notably, captain Rohit brought himself on to bowl an over and nearly got the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan after overcoming a twisted ankle scare.
“Even Rohit’s over. He bowled an over where he got an under-edge. They played smart cricket. If even they had lost at the end, they played the best they could. Credit must be given to Mumbai for going out there and putting that plan together and taking it right down to the end,” Lara added.
Having completed a hard-fought win, Mumbai Indians will be upbeat when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on April 17.
